A member of the clarinet family the bass clarinet is differently shaped and larger than a standard clarinet. It has an upturned metal bell and curved metal crook but retains the cylindrical bore wooden body giving it a rich earthy sound. The majority of modern bass clarinets, like other clarinets in the family, use the Boehm system of keys and fingering. There are however bass clarinets manufactured in Germany with the Oehler system, otherwise known as the ‘German” system. Bass clarinets regularly perform in orchestras, wind ensembles and concert bands and play an occasional solo role in contemporary music, film scores and jazz.
The bass clarinet was first developed at the end of the 1700s. Some of these early instruments have a doubled body like a bassoon and some resemble early basset horns. A straight bodied instrument was produced by Isaac Dacosta and Auguste Buffet in 1832 but the model most similar to today’s instruments was introduced by Adolphe Sax in 1838. Sax, a Belgian manufacturer of music instruments, was an expert in acoustics and this knowledge led him to feature large, accurately placed tone holes.
Modern bass clarinets are crafted by hand and give a rich warm sound coupled with powerful projection and accurate intonation.
At Ackerman Music we stock bass clarinets by Yamaha and Buffet Crampon. Click here for more details.
